Project timeline / Next steps
October 2002
Cooperation agreement between OMV Gas & Power GmbH (Austria), MOL Hungarian Oil & Gas plc (Hungary), Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD (Bulgaria), SNTGN Transgaz SA (Romania) and BOTAS (Turkey) to implement a feasibility study regarding construction of the Nabucco pipeline.
2004
Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH established.
2005
Nabucco feasibility study concluded. Positive outcome leads to shareholder resolution to proceed with project.
February 2008
RWE becomes the sixth shareholder in the Nabucco consortium.
July 2008
Market survey in preparation for ‘open season’ process (transport capacity marketing) successfully concluded, documenting the vast interest in Nabucco.
December 2008
OMV and RWE establish the Caspian Energy Company (CEC), which will examine transport opportunities for gas from the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea toward Europe. Depending on the results, CEC will initiate development and construction of a gas transport system crossing the Caspian Sea. The gas could be fed into the existing South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) or other new pipelines by Azerbaijan and Georgia and further transported through the Nabucco pipeline – the backbone of the Southern Gas Corridor – across Turkey to Europe.
More about the Caspian Energy Company
(PDF | 33 KB)
January 2009
Budapest Summit: An international conference in Budapest brings together government representatives from the EU and Caspian countries with shareholders in the Nabucco consortium as well as financial institutions. The conference ends with a clear commitment to developing a Southern Corridor to secure Europe's gas supply from the Caspian region and the Middle East across Turkey.
Spring 2009
Technical preparations begin to plan the route of the pipeline (front end engineering design) in the transit countries: The results form an important precondition for further feasibility studies to deal with the effects of the pipeline's construction and operation on society and the environment.
April 2009
Local consultant engineers in the five Nabucco countries, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey are tasked with detailed technical planning.
April 2009
RWE enters into an energy partnership with Turkmenistan. Cooperation under this arrangement extends to various aspects of commercial energy. The agreements reached between the partners include investigating and discussing the options for direct gas deliveries from Turkmenistan to Germany and other parts of Europe. RWE will also participate in developing gas fields in the western Caspian Sea off Turkmenistan.
More about the energy partnership with Turkmenistan
(PDF | 31 KB)
May 2009
The ‘Southern Corridor Summit’ in Prague reinforces the desire on the part of the EU, Turkey and the countries of the Caspian region and the Middle East to develop and extend their relationships through energy partnerships and other joint projects in the areas of the economy, education and science.
Declaration by the Southern Corridor Summit in Prague (PDF | 88 KB)
July 2009
The governments of Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria sign the Inter-Governmental Agreement (‘IGA’) on 13 July in Ankara. The agreement represents a major step towards the realisation of the project and has increased confidence in Nabucco on the part of Turkey, Europe and gas supplier countries, committing the parties to the agreement to developing the Nabucco project. The IGA establishes the basis for a consistent regulatory transit regime that allows Nabucco to operate in each transit country on a ‘one-stop shop’ principle (i.e. the shipper must only conclude one contract per capacity booking from an entry to an exit point). The agreement guarantees non-discriminatory access to the Nabucco pipeline for all gas suppliers, thus increasing competition.
Autumn / winter 2009
Detailed discussions on financing with development banks such as the EIB, EBRD and IFC as well as export development banks have begun; complete detailed technical planning and implementation of social and environmental impact studies underway.
Nabucco - an economic comparison
March 2010
Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) ratified by the parliaments of the transit countries.
National Nabucco companies founded in transit countries.
September 2010
Letter of engagement signed with the EBRD, EIB and IFC, providing up to €4 billion in financing for Nabucco.
January 2011
The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyew, sign an agreement on strategic gas supplies to Europe in Baku/Azerbaijan on 13 January. The agreement strengthens the cooperation between the EU countries and Azerbaijan and provides a firm political basis for Nabucco and the gas supplies from Azerbaijan.
May 2011
The Energy Commissioner of the European Commission, Günther Oettinger and the Vice-Premier of Iraq, Hussain al-Sharistani, sign an agreement on strategic cooperation in the energy sector and for gas supplies to Europe in Brussels on 26 May. Iraq offers long-term gas supplies to the EU through the Southern Corridor while the EU will open up its gas markets in return.
June 2011
The governments of Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria and Nabucco Pipeline International GmbH sign the Project Support Agreements (PSAs) to finalise the legal framework for the Nabucco pipeline in Kayseri (Turkey) on 8 June. The PSAs are bilateral binding agreements between the Nabucco companies and the individual transit countries. They represent a major step towards implementing the Nabucco pipeline project. The PSAs focus on confirming favourable transit rules pursuant to Turkish and EU laws, protecting the Nabucco pipeline from possibly discriminatory legal changes and supporting legal and administrative measures for further project implementation. By signing the PSAs, each transit country commits to supporting the project. Together with the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA), the PSAs are the precondition for successful project financing. They provide a stable and long-term legal basis for international investors to raise the funds to finance one of the most significant natural gas pipeline projects in the world.
September 2011
The Nabucco consortium submits a proposal in response to the invitation for bids on the 16 bcm of gas from the Shah Deniz II (SDII) field. The partners in the SDII consortium announce they will use the bids to decide by the end of 2011 with which of the Southern Corridor pipeline companies they will enter into exclusive negotiations.
BP announces a proposal for the South East European Pipeline (SEEP), an alternative to the existing projects in the Southern Corridor (Nabucco, TAP, ITGI ) designed to supply the South East European market with gas from the Caspian region.
October 2011
Bayerngas begins negotiations to become a member of the Nabucco consortium.
December 2011
A memorandum of understanding is signed between Azerbaijan and Turkey to found a company to build theTrans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP). The pipeline is meant to transport Caspian gas from Georgia to Turkey’s eastern border, and then through Turkey on to Europe. The new proposal increases discussion about which pipeline should serve the Southern Corridor.
The decision expected in December by Shah Deniz II on the preferred route for exporting Azerbaijani gas is postponed until 2012.
February 2012
The Shah Deniz II consortium decides not to continue pursuing the ITGI project for exporting gas to Europe.
The Nabucco consortium is asked to develop a proposal for a scaled-down pipeline (Nabucco West) that would start at the Turkish-Bulgarian border. The pipeline would be filled with gas from TANAP in order to transport it on European soil.
Overview of all pipelines under discussion
2013
Expected start date for pipeline construction
2017
Expected commissioning - first gas expected to flow through Nabucco. The pipeline is planned to achieve a total capacity of 31 billion cubic metres per year.
